The fallout continues from an audit last week that found serious accounting issues at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
The findings leave LAHSA’s fate unclear. Created 31 years ago, the agency is jointly overseen by the county and the city of L.A. This year, the city contributed nearly $307 million to LAHSA’s annual budget of $875 million. The agency also receives $348 million in funding from L.A. County, and additional money from the state of California and the federal government.
Some top city and county officials are now openly questioning whether that money is well spent.
First, L.A. County Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger last week called for pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the agency. Now, some L.A. City Council members want to follow suit.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez introduced a motion — seconded by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield — that aims to sidestep LAHSA and keep homelessness funds in the city’s hands.
“The audit was just, for me, the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Rodriguez told LAist. “I’m tired of the people’s money being expended in a manner that has zero transparency, zero consequences for failure to perform and zero feedback on what the outcomes are.”